Let's stimulate those who need it most

Sunday

Feb 24, 2008 at 12:01 AM

BY COIMBATORE V. ISWARANSpecial to the Star-Banner

The recently announced plan for stimulating the economy includes a rebate check from the government to many Americans. As expected, rabid reactionaries argue that people who do not pay taxes should be excluded from benefiting from this arrangement. This idiotic concept arises from the notion that the money paid in is their money and they will be damned if someone who did not pay in reaps the benefit.
Quite apart from the moral repugnancy of this argument, which makes bile rise in one's throat because it defiles our standards of human decency, it also falls miserably short of meeting the most basic dictates of logic.
First, it should be obvious that the rebate is expected to result in an increase in spending and in a corresponding increase in the traffic of goods and services across the economy. This will hopefully be a shot in the arm for the sluggish economy, which is currently headed into a recession.
Therefore, unless the rebate money is actually spent, it will do no good.
Now when a rich man receives a rebate, the chances are he will simply put the money in his savings account. The poor man, on the other hand, is much more likely to spend it on desperately needed goods and services. So if the idea is to wake up the economy, who do you think should get the rebate check?
Secondly, and most importantly, the money you paid in is not your money.
You paid your taxes in return for services rendered by your government. One key service is contract enforcement. Were it not for the government standing by with its established judiciary and a police force with big guns, you may never collect money from those who are contractually obligated to pay you. Then you don't have to worry about paying taxes because you would not have any income in the first place!
The situation is analogous to my walking into Publix and paying for a jug of milk. Once they put my money in their till, it no longer belongs to me. I have been adequately compensated for by the milk. If, as an incentive for their customers to make more purchases at their store, Publix decides to issue a rebate to all its customers, including the bum who comes in there just to get a free cup of coffee, it is not my place to complain. The bum is more likely to spend the money at the store than I am.
If you really want to solve this problem of stimulating the economy equitably, then here is what the government should do. Send a letter to every American you can reach (as well as all the illegal aliens you can find) informing them that the government will send them a non-transferable gift certificate with an expiration date to a discount department store or grocery store of their choice (from the list provided) in a predetermined amount.
The money is guaranteed to be spent since you cannot put a gift certificate in your bank account. As an added bonus, the government would save a lot of money since the rich snob would not be caught dead shopping at Wal-Mart and is likely throw the letter away.
On top of all that you can post Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at these stores to catch all the illegal aliens at large who are attracted by this lure.
Humility is a formidable weapon. It is through the compensation we offer to those who are less fortunate amongst us by way of handicapped ramps, rebate checks, earned income credit, etc. that we attain the zenith of our own glory. As such, we have to succumb to the nobler instincts instilled in us by God.
Our government prints our currency. Without these reassurances to the underprivileged, the confidence of the international community in us will be destroyed and the dollar bill will be worth about as much as the Indonesian Rupiah.
As the 18th century English dramatist and novelist Henry Fielding succinctly put it: "A rich man without charity is a rogue; and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool."
Coimbatore V. Iswaran holds a Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Florida. He lives in Gainesville.
The money you paid in is not your money. You paid your taxes in return for services rendered by your government.

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